Motor vehicles are frequently outfitted with means for towing trailers and the like. This towing means most usually takes the form of a hollow tubular receiver that is mounted at the rear of the towing vehicle. This hollow tubular receiver typically comprises a hollow metal tube having a square cross section and also having a peripheral collar or flange at the rear-most portion of the hollow tube. The tube is dimensioned so as to receive a portion of a mounting hitch having a spherical ball disposed at one end. The opposite end of the mounting hitch is typically another square member that mates with the tube of the trailer hitch receiver and is slidably insertable into and out of it. The outer dimension of the inserted end of the mounting hitch and the inner dimension of the receiver tube are similar such that a close tolerance between those two components is achieved. This arrangement ensures that there is minimal vibration and movement between those two components. To secure the mounting hitch within the receiver tube, however, the user must insert a locking pin or bolt through linearly aligned holes formed both in the receiver tube and in the inserted end of the mounting hitch.
When the mounting hitch is removed from the trailer hitch receiver, the unused opening at the end of the trailer hitch receiver is exposed to the elements. Those elements include water, dirt and salt, all of which can result in a deposit of dirt and debris collecting within the hitch receiver as well as corrosion and rusting of the inside surface of the hitch receiver. Such debris accumulation, rust and corrosion can impede, or even completely prevent, the later insertion of the mounting hitch within the hitch receiver.
To prevent the inside of the hitch receiver from being exposed to the elements, certain plugs have been introduced into the motor vehicle marketplace. The intended purpose of many such plugs, however, is to simply cover up the unattractive opening to the hitch receiver with some sort of novelty plug. Accordingly, such plugs are designed to do little more than incorporate a face piece that simply butts up against the face of the peripheral collar of the trailer hitch receiver. This presents a less than perfect cover for the trailer hitch receiver opening against the elements and does absolutely nothing to cover up the lateral holes in the hitch receiver, which holes also serve as secondary entry ways for water, dirt and salt to get into the hitch receiver.
In the view of these inventors, there is a need to provide a trailer hitch receiver cover that effectively wraps around and sealingly engages the primary opening at the peripheral collar or flange of the hitch receiver so as to prevent the exposure of the hitch receiver interior to the elements. What is also needed is such a hitch receiver cover that also incorporates means for sealing the lateral holes in the hitch receiver as well as the primary opening to the hitch receiver interior. What is also needed is such a cover that integrates both features in a single unitary device. What is also needed is such a cover that is fabricated of a resilient and flexible material.